Business

Ratings woes at Nickelodeon spread to MTV and Comedy Central

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Not even SpongeBob SquarePants can bail them out of this one.

The ratings woes that showed up at Nickelodeon last year have spread beyond the kiddie network to Viacom’s other big cable properties, including MTV, Comedy Central and BET, according to data released yesterday.

Viacom — controlled by 88-year-old Sumner Redstone — depends heavily on its collection of cable channels to generate profits. Wall Street was surprised when Viacom’s ad revenue fell 3 percent to $1.35 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31, in large part because of the ratings shortfall at Nick.

Viacom has shown before that it can turn around a network’s fortunes — witness the rebirth of MTV a few years ago with “Jersey Shore.” CEO Philippe Dauman has already told investors that the company will drop $3 billion on programming this year to boost its networks, including ordering up 500 new episodes for Nick.

Still, the media powerhouse has its work cut out for it.

At MTV, Snooki and the gang are starting to show their age. In the first three months of the year, the “Jersey Shore” network was off 19 percent in its target 18-to-34-year-old audience in primetime, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

“‘Jersey Shore’ was close to 8 million viewers last year, now they’re doing closer to 6 million,” said Brad Adgate, head of research at ad-buying firm Horizon Media. “One show can really change the picture.”

“Jersey Shore,” which just got renewed for a sixth season, is still successful, but it’s no secret that it’s getting long in the tooth. MTV is prepping spinoffs, including the “PaulyD Project” and another show starring JWoww and Snooki, to keep the franchise alive.

No one’s laughing at Comedy Central, which is off 15 percent in primetime in the first quarter. The lack of a Donald Trump roast and a less-than-stellar performance from “Tosh.0,” starring comedian Daniel Tosh, contributed to the declines. The addition of “Big Bang Theory,” at rival comedy channel TBS likely also hurt the network.

Meanwhile, Nick, Viacom’s cash machine, continues to slide. The network was off 28 percent among 6-to-11-year-olds in the first quarter and 34.9 percent in the most recent week. That’s prompting industry insiders to wonder if changes in the executive lineup are ahead.

Viacom’s ratings weakness cuts across age and color lines. BET, the African-American targeted network, saw its ratings fall 12 percent in the first quarter. Its top-rated show, “The Game,” is down from the prior season and averaged 4.8 million viewers last quarter.

It looks like BET’s competition is sister network VH1, which is stealing some of BET’s swagger with a host of shows aimed at black audiences. VH1’s ratings are up 40 percent in the 18-to-34-year-old demo in the first quarter.

VH1 once had a hard time drawing a million viewers, but it now has three shows averaging more than 2 million viewers in primetime, including “TI & Tiny: The Family Hustle,” “Love & Hip Hop” and “Basketball Wives.”